Judge rules that Archdiocese of New York’s lawsuit against HHS mandate may proceed

A US district court judge has ruled that the Archdiocese of New York’s lawsuit against the HHS mandate may proceed. Other courts have dismissed similar lawsuits on the grounds that the Catholic plaintiffs had not yet suffered injury from the mandate.

“Ignoring the speeding train that is coming towards plaintiffs in the hope that it will stop might well be inconsistent with the fiduciary duties that plaintiffs’ directors or officers owe to their members,” Judge Brian Cogan said in his decision. “As explained above, the practical realities of administering health care coverage for large numbers of employees — which defendants recognize — require plaintiffs to incur these costs in advance of the impending effectiveness of the Coverage Mandate.”

“Moreover, the First Amendment does not require citizens to accept assurances from the government that, if the government later determines it has made a misstep, it will take ameliorative action,” he continued. “There is no, ‘Trust us, changes are coming’ clause in the Constitution. To the contrary, the Bill of Rights itself, and the First Amendment in particular, reflect a degree of skepticism towards governmental self-restraint and self-correction.”

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